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Illinois Public Media

About 900 Ill. Veterans Requested, Didn’t Get Care

A new audit shows nearly 900 veterans have requested appointments at Illinois' Veterans Administration hospitals in the past decade but not received them.

The Veterans Affairs Department released findings Monday of a national audit on quality of care and wait times.

It follows allegations that 40 patients died awaiting care at a Phoenix hospital where employees kept a secret waiting list to cover up delays.

The audit shows 494 new patients requested an appointment at the VA hospital in Marion, Illinois but no appointment was scheduled.

"That is unacceptable,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in a statement, reacting to the 90-day wait times in Marion. “I have asked Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson to brief me this week on the audit of Illinois facilities. I want to know what staff was instructed to do when it came to scheduling appointments, what bonuses were paid to senior officials and what pressure to create secret waitlists existed."

It also shows the average wait time for a primary care appointment was 54 days in Danville and 33 days for patients at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital outside Danville.

“Today’s release of the VA’s Access Audit confirms that the problems with veterans getting timely service are even more widespread than previously revealed,” said Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville, in a statement of his own. “My office has aided numerous veterans through the years who have experienced similar issues, and I encourage anyone currently in that situation – as well as VA employees – to share with me any knowledge of irregularities at the VA.”